Importance of Nuclear Energy in Today’s World

Nuclear energy is one of the popular energy generation resources today, accepted as a viable alternative to fossil fuels like coal and gas. Nuclear energy is generated in nuclear power plants by bombarding radioactive elements like Uranium with neutrons, causing the release of massive amounts of energy and radiation. The energy released is used for various purposes, mainly as a source of electricity.

The popularity of nuclear energy is so much so that 20% of the electricity in US is supplied by nuclear energy. Apart from US, today more than 30 countries in the world harness and use nuclear energy. Uranium is used to generate nuclear energy and to obtain Uranium which is a non-renewable source mining has to be done.

Importance of Nuclear Energy in Today’s World

1. It is Eco-Friendly

Global warming, excessive carbon emissions and greenhouse effect are some of the growing environmental concerns today. Interestingly the root cause of all these concerns is the burning of fossil fuels like coal, wood, oil and gas. Unlike these sources of energy, nuclear energy doesn’t have any carbon emissions to make, thus making it a viable and eco-friendly source of energy. Many developed countries that are environmentally conscious are considering nuclear energy as a viable alternative for this reason.

2. No Pollutants

Nuclear energy not only avoids carbon emissions, it also avoids emissions of other harmful chemicals and smoke particles that pollute the atmosphere. On the contrary, burning of fossil fuels like coal and gas emit gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and many other air pollutants that decrease the air quality and make air less breathable. The energy captured in nuclear power plants is directly converted into electricity and the white smoke coming out of the cooling towers in nuclear power plants is in fact just pure steam.

3. Efficient

Another reason why nuclear energy is becoming very important is because it is efficient and requires very less radioactive elements. To illustrate with an example, just 28 grams of uranium is sufficient to produce the same amount of energy that is obtained by burning 100 metric tons of coal. Apart from the mining and careful transportation of the radioactive material, and the initial investment to set up the power plant there is no other major requirement. Uranium is comparatively cheap and the nuclear power plants don’t occupy a lot of space as well. So the amount of resources used and the output received is very impressive, making nuclear energy a very efficient source of energy.

4. Reliable

Lastly, in times of energy crisis and constantly fluctuating prices of oil and gas, nuclear energy seems to be a reliable and sustainable source of energy. Nuclear power plants can run 24/7 and not depend on any natural conditions like sun or wind. In fact nuclear power plants 90% of the hours during a year, thus being a reliable source of uninterrupted energy.